Hey y’all,

Not sure if I am overthinking this one, but I have questions regarding storing my bass tracker in my garage.

Since I’ve bought the boat, I’ve been storing it in one car garage at my house. It’s a tight fit, but I make it work.

Now this is a broad question I have, but is there anything special I should be doing? I don’t have any ventilation vents on the garage door or any windows, not sure if this is a concern.

i haven’t noticed any issues so far as crazy smells or any build up of mildew or mold or anything like that. Just not sure if that’s gonna be an issue and if I need to do any preventive measures now.

thank yall

 

 

 

Non-ventilated, one-car garage is where I keep Bass Trek over the winter. And it gets cold in there, and no problems...It might be a bit warm for yours, but I don't think it'll cause issues with the boat itself...I'd just unload rods and tackle to someplace cooler.

Just now, MN Fisher said:

Non-ventilated, one-car garage is where I keep Bass Trek over the winter. And it gets cold in there, and no problems...It might be a bit warm for yours, but I don't think it'll cause issues with the boat itself...I'd just unload rods and tackle to someplace cooler.

Nice boat, I like it!

Yep I’m in Texas and that’s kinda what I was thinking, my concerns are more for the summer months and it can get crazy hot.

Does the garage door get opened frequently? I don’t think you’ll have issues but just open the door every now in then to keep air moving

 

Good luck

Make sure it doesn’t smell like gas. After you’re done using it I’d put a fan in there if you can. Just to try to dry everything out. Even if it doesn’t seem wet it’s a boat there is some moisture somewhere. 

Well you're a step ahead with protecting the boat from the elements.

When I fish in the rain, I'll pull the boat out on first sunny day and open up all the compartments and let everything air out and dry before backing it back in.

You can also put a dehumidifier in the garage.

A fan of some kind would help if you’ve been fishing in the rain. I have a ceiling fan in mine that I run. And open the hatches too like bird stated.

3 hours ago, Jigfishn10 said:

Does the garage door get opened frequently? I don’t think you’ll have issues but just open the door every now in then to keep air moving

 

Good luck

Only when I’m doing yard work or messing with the boat. I’ll get in a habit of opening it more to air out.

You should be fine in the garage.

 

Storing outside, even under a boat cover or tarp, can be a problem long term. Critters can get in there, water as well. And sun damage...ugh. 

 

Make sure you don't have any mice getting in your garage. 

I’ve seen plenty of old trackers that sit out in the rain and snow all winter without covers and guys take them out and fish them in the spring. Parking it in the garage is well ahead of the curve my friend. I just park mine and don’t think about it for a second. I fish a lot in the summer so it gets aired out going down the road/and fishing. I see no need for anymore maintenance to be done.

9 minutes ago, jitterbug127 said:

I’ve seen plenty of old trackers that sit out in the rain and snow all winter without covers and guys take them out and fish them in the spring. Parking it in the garage is well ahead of the curve my friend. I just park mine and don’t think about it for a second. I fish a lot in the summer so it gets aired out going down the road/and fishing. I see no need for anymore maintenance to be done.

 

I'm with Jitterbug. Less maintenance means more time to do other things. F'r instance, I just threw the ball a hundred times for my pooch and now we're going to walk a couple miles. Could I be polishing my canoes instead? Well, yeah, but nope 'cause I won't catch anymore bass if I do. 

'

This is what I use in the summer.  It works great.  It dries the boat in an hour or two.

do you not have a whirly bird vent on the roof?

The nice thing about storage in the garage other than the items already mentioned is that you can just back in and unhook.  Safe and sound as is.  No cover.  No removing graphs.  No removing rod n reels.

 

The thought of taking all my gear and graphs out of my boat each and every time I unhooked my boat would seriously inhibit my will power to go fishing, because I'd have to add it back in.  The cover would inhibit this too.

 

Wish my garage was a little bigger but it's certainly way better than parking it outside.  There's a good chance I would not even own a boat if I didn't have a garage to store it in.

2 hours ago, jitterbug127 said:

I’ve seen plenty of old trackers that sit out in the rain and snow all winter without covers and guys take them out and fish them in the spring.

Not a tracker but been doing this since it was built in 2021

 

I will say that it looks waaaay better in the water ... haha

If you have any type of vent in the garage roof, ridge vent or pipe vent, I would cut a small hole in your garage door near the bottom and add a screened vent cover. You may need an additional one in the garage ceiling (if you have a finished ceiling) near the center. It is easy to do and surprising how the air will flow and take smells and the heat up and out your vent. If done correctly, the garage temp will never get higher then the outside temp, which in Texas could still be hot. Either way, I believe storing in a garage is better than outside. 

I keep my Pond Prowler in my 3rd garage. No gas motor so that  is not a problem but I worry about keeping 2 12V lithiums in there with bedrooms above.  I have them out of the boat and kept in a "fire resistant" cover.

Anything else I should be doing?

On 1/8/2026 at 5:00 PM, Susky River Rat said:

Make sure it doesn’t smell like gas. After you’re done using it I’d put a fan in there if you can. Just to try to dry everything out. Even if it doesn’t seem wet it’s a boat there is some moisture somewhere. 

I’ve noticed a slight smell of gas coming from the fuel tank. I observed no obvious leaks, thought this was normal to have a slight smell or should I be concerned?

1 hour ago, Backroad Angler said:

I’ve noticed a slight smell of gas coming from the fuel tank. I observed no obvious leaks, thought this was normal to have a slight smell or should I be concerned?

If it gets warm, there's going to be a slight over-pressure of gas vapor that will escape the cap. A slight smell of gas isn't an issue - just open the door for a couple minutes to air out.

52 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

If it gets warm, there's going to be a slight over-pressure of gas vapor that will escape the cap. A slight smell of gas isn't an issue - just open the door for a couple minutes to air out.

It’s more noticeable when I open the lid that exposes the fuel tank. Inspected around inside, everything seems tight and I haven’t seen anything obvious.

Just want to make sure there isn’t an actual issue going on.

Thanks

@Backroad Angler if you have that let’s say garage musk. A little smell of oil, gas, grease not a terrible issue. It shouldn’t smell like it’s just being poured or pumped. If you really don’t smell anything without opening the lid I really wouldn’t worry too much. Just air it out here and there. I make sure I have no gas smell because my garage is attached to my house.

I took the boat out this week and put it in the garage. After 2-3 days of it sitting in there is when I noticed the gas smell and I hadn’t opened the garage or anything. I’m assuming I probably should have aired it out after just running it for a good amount of time. I believe this is why I had that gas smell

Every boat that I have had gave off a gas smell in the garage. As long as I keep the bilge area lid open I never notice it. So I open it as soon as the boat goes in the garage and leave it open until I go fishing again.

I’ve never noticed the smell of fuel coming from my boat in the garage. If that was apparent, it would bother me because it’s never occurred before.

Maybe my garage is just better ventilated.

Good tips, I’ll just make sure to air it out. Since I’ve noticed the smell, I’ve been keeping an eye on it more. Not noticing anything crazy and still not seeing any signs of leaks or issues.